Michael Andretti not jealous about Rossi's Indy 500 win

FILE - In this Sunday, May 29, 2016, file photo, Alexander Rossi, left, celebrates with car owner Michael Andretti after winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Michael Andretti is the greatest driver to never win the Indianapolis 500. He has done it four times as a car owner, though, most recently on Sunday with Rossi. It can be a bitter pill to swallow to watch a rookie win a race your family has chased for over 40 years, but Andretti harbored no jealousy over Rossi's improbable victory. (AP Photo/R Brent Smith)
(The Associated Press)

Michael Andretti is the greatest driver to never win the Indianapolis 500, yet he has done it four times as a car owner.

His most recent victory came Sunday with Alexander Rossi, a rookie who used fuel strategy to pull off an improbable upset in the 100th running of "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing."

When a family has spent more than 40 years trying to win that race, it could be a bitter pill to swallow when a first-timer who had never before been to Indianapolis Motor Speedway winds up sipping the milk.

Despite his own failures at Indy, Andretti harbored no ill will over Rossi's win.

"I was happy for him," Andretti said. "My driving career, it just wasn't meant to be. We led a lot of laps here, but we never led the right one."

Andretti then professed his happiness for Rossi and his crew, which was put together by Bryan Herta and merged with Andretti Autosport as a fourth full-time team.

"I was just so happy for our team, not jealous at all," Andretti said. "Just proud to have these guys, proud to be a part of it with all of them. Everybody on Andretti Autosport, this is absolutely a team effort, all five cars."

It appeared that Rossi received the same respect from teammate Marco Andretti, who spent the better part of the last year focused on winning the 100th Indianapolis 500. He wants nothing more than that victory, and he was never competitive Sunday while finishing 13th to drop to 0 for 11 in the race.

His father was 0 for 16 and grandfather Mario's victory in 1969 remains the family's lone Indianapolis 500 win.

Rossi said he received a congratulatory text message from Marco Andretti after the race, and Marco made a joke on Twitter about Rossi having to pay for many upcoming dinners after claiming over $2.5 million from the Indianapolis purse.

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RPM-XFINITY: Richard Petty Motorsports said Wednesday it has suspended operations for its No. 43 team in the Xfinity Series.

RPM cited "financial issues" and "missed payments" from sponsor J. Streicher, which is new this season to NASCAR.

"This is an unfortunate situation," RPM CEO Brian Moffitt said. "We make commitments to both our employees and vendors that are based on sponsor commitments, and we take those commitments seriously. We will pursue every avenue to ensure the contractual obligations between RPM and our sponsor are met. We'll take each week as it comes and do our best to get the No. 43 Ford Mustang on track as much as possible this season."

The car was driven by Jeb Burton, son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. He could return to the car if sponsorship is found, but in the meantime will drive in this weekend's Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono for GO FAS Racing. Burton discussed his disappointment in the Xfinity situation on Twitter.

"Devastated I won't be able to continue the season as planned and heartbroken for my team," he posted. "I'm grateful to RPM for their commitment to me and remain hopeful that we can work through this issue with funding and get back on the track soon."

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KBM-APPEAL: The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Wednesday upheld the penalties against Kyle Busch Motorsports for an infraction against the No. 51 Camping World Truck Series team last month at Dover International Speedway.

Daniel Suarez's second-place truck was found to violate the tailgate height rule in post-race inspection.

The panel that heard the appeal consisted of Tim Bennett, general manager of Holland (N.Y.) Motorsports Complex, Richard Gore, former owner of Old Dominion Raceway, and Russell Hackett, former owner of Caraway Speedway. KBM could still appeal the decision to motorsports' final appeals officer.

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LARSON WINS: Kyle Larson finally got a victory this season, just not in a NASCAR race.

Larson won at Montpelier Motor Speedway on Tuesday night in the opening round of "Indiana Midget Week." The win was the fifth consecutive national midget car victory by a Keith Kunz Motorsports entry.

Larson shared photos and thoughts about the victory on his social media accounts.

"Feels good to know I can still win" USAC races, he posted. "That was a wild one! Had so much fun."

Larson is still looking for his first Sprint Cup Series race and nearly got it last month at Dover, where he finished second to Matt Kenseth. He's winless in 88 career Cup starts, and hasn't won at NASCAR's national level since a victory in the Xfinity Series finale at Homestead last November.